as in tortured
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as in plagued
to cause persistent suffering to
he was tormented by nightmares about the accident
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of tormented
New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Ruger Riojas, another offseason transformation project, tormented Coastal Carolina on the mound.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
It's been three years since Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald was killed in the line of duty — a day that's tormented Sgt.
—Kerri Corrado, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
On the one hand, Lady Penwood has tormented Sophie since her father’s death, denying her parentage, forcing her into servitude, and working her to the bone.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
His captors tormented him by saying that his family didn’t care about him.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
For his work as the brilliant but deeply tormented London detective Luther, Elba won a Critics’ Choice Television Award, as well as a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2026
James’ 2020 debut feature, Relic — a slow-burn chiller about three generations of women tormented by a presence in the family home — worked because the director never allowed her control of the material to slacken, even when the narrative was stretched a bit thin.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Feb. 2026
Taking place during the Christmas season, the film centers on a group of sorority sisters who are tormented by persistent, disturbing phone calls.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
Verb
Then in January, the Iranian people by the millions took to the streets, demanding freedom and an end to the dictatorship which has tormented them since 1979.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 1 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, Ruger Riojas, another offseason transformation project, tormented Coastal Carolina on the mound.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 28 Feb. 2026
It's been three years since Temple University Police Sergeant Christopher Fitzgerald was killed in the line of duty — a day that's tormented Sgt.
—Kerri Corrado, CBS News, 19 Feb. 2026
On the one hand, Lady Penwood has tormented Sophie since her father’s death, denying her parentage, forcing her into servitude, and working her to the bone.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 19 Feb. 2026
His captors tormented him by saying that his family didn’t care about him.
—Editorial, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
For his work as the brilliant but deeply tormented London detective Luther, Elba won a Critics’ Choice Television Award, as well as a Golden Globe and a SAG Award.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 4 Feb. 2026
James’ 2020 debut feature, Relic — a slow-burn chiller about three generations of women tormented by a presence in the family home — worked because the director never allowed her control of the material to slacken, even when the narrative was stretched a bit thin.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Feb. 2026
Taking place during the Christmas season, the film centers on a group of sorority sisters who are tormented by persistent, disturbing phone calls.
—Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tormented
Adjective
-
During the show’s wildly popular first season, Robby was treated as a swaggering, tortured heartthrob by the viewers who turned this HBO Max original into an Emmy-winning success.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
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Fennell cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff and Margot Robbie plays Cathy in this tale of childhood friends turned tortured lovers, kept apart by heartbreaking misunderstandings and their own destructive decisions.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The violence captured on cellphone videos and shared around the globe – buses burning, gas stations attacked, military helicopters flying overhead – wasn’t just happening in remote rural towns long plagued by drug violence.—
Mary Beth Sheridan,
CNN Money,
24 Feb. 2026
-
But controversial government efforts to redress inequalities have been plagued by corruption and cronyism.—
Michael H Gavshon,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Its research found that that 82 percent of women regularly feel frustrated by period products.—
Kathryn Hopkins,
Footwear News,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Whoever first claimed that patience is a virtue was wrong (or at least, very frustrated).—
Mark Ellwood,
Robb Report,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Russia has destroyed more than 600 churches, persecuted millions of Ukrainian Christians under occupation, and abducted more than 19,000 children in an effort to break Ukraine’s spirit.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The result is that, despite existing household pains owing to more expensive fuel, a resurgent kidnapping crisis that exposes deep security vulnerabilities, and external pressure from a US government that claims Christians are persecuted in Nigeria, Tinubu has expanded his base and looks strong.—
Alexander Onukwue,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When teachers became the complaint Several cases described teachers discussing their own political views on the latest Israel-Hamas war in ways that state investigators said foreseeably made Jewish students feel uncomfortable, harassed or targeted.—
Molly Gibbs,
Mercury News,
12 Jan. 2026
-
The Broncos beat up, bruised, harassed and downright punished Herbert from the start.—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Those who aren’t afflicted by the syndrome might think dark thoughts, but they are kept buttoned up.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Costco's popular rotisserie chicken is at the center of another lawsuit, this one claiming that a chicken processing plant in Nebraska is afflicted by salmonella contamination, possibly affecting hundreds of millions of the birds sold through the warehouses.—
Cheryl V. Jackson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Destruction in Mariupol At the start of the war, Russian forces besieged Mariupol before the port city fell in May 2022.—
Yuras Karmanau,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
The Adams administration was besieged with corruption at every level—the Blackness of the perpetrators was of no solace.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
In Network, as a harried TV executive, Duvall is similarly roaring, spitting some great Paddy Chayefsky soliloquies with relish.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
16 Feb. 2026
-
O’Hara found her highest-profile role in Home Alone (1990), as a harried suburban mom who accidentally abandons her 8-year-old son.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tormented.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tormented. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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